Cyclades · The island of Dionysus
Naxos
Naxos is the largest island of the Cyclades and quietly its best value: a self-sustaining island of farms, vineyards and long west-coast beaches that the tourist boom largely passed by. Ask a local about the low profile and they will tell you this is just how they like it.
Naxos is thought to be the home of Dionysus, the god of wine, celebration and fun, and he still has a lot of influence here. The island was famous in antiquity for wine that traded across Greece and the Mediterranean, and people believed the god lived permanently in its lush green interior.
The legend of Ariadne
According to the legend, when Theseus abandoned Ariadne on Naxos, Dionysus saw her and fell in love. She hid from him in the island’s greenery; he found her, they married, and Ariadne became a goddess. To honour their god, the residents built him a great temple in the 6th century BC near what is now Glinado, a few kilometres from Chora, and part of it still stands. If the mythology is what draws you, look also at Crete and Rhodes.
The island that feeds itself
Naxos sat out the tourist boom that swept the Cyclades in the last decade, and it shows in the best ways. This is a genuinely self-sustaining island, with its own agriculture and livestock, so do not be surprised to meet cows and sheep five minutes from the port. Prices stay low while the quality of food, lodging and adventure stays high, which is why we call it the best value in the Cyclades.
Explore Naxos
Portara
The huge marble gate on the islet by the harbour is the island’s emblem, the remnant of an archaic temple from the 6th century BC. Guidebooks argue over whether it honoured Apollo or Ariadne; historians have never settled it. Either way it is the place to stand at sunset, with Naxos Town and the harbour laid out beside you.
Wind and water
Naxos has wind to spare. It hosts one of the few wind parks in the Cyclades, and the same weather makes the shallow, protected bays of the west coast superb for windsurfing and kitesurfing at every level.
Chora
The capital runs from the port up to the Kastro: whitewashed sugar-cube houses with painted blue doors, small chapels, arches and endless narrow alleys. The labyrinth is the point. It is lively without being loud, full of restaurants, cafes and small shops.
Pairing Naxos
Naxos pairs naturally with Paros and Mykonos on a Cyclades sailing route, and sits on the same line south toward Ios and Santorini. We tend to use it as the island that slows a journey down before the caldera.
Known first-hand
Our best picks on Naxos
- Best Bar Swing
Molecular mixology near the port: seasonal ingredients, dramatic presentation and famously good music. Arrive early in the evening for a seat on the small sunset terrace, or the back terrace facing the castle ruins.
- Best Viewpoint Panorama
After a day on the golden sand of Agia Anna, Plaka and Mikri Vigla along the west coast, close it with a cocktail at Panorama, the best sunset seat on the island.
- Best Daytrip The Small Cyclades
Keep a day free for a sail to the islets they call the Small Cyclades, and on to Koufonisia, famous for white beaches and green-blue water.
- Best Hidden Spot Alyko
On the south-west coast, an unfinished 1960s hotel complex beside a cedar forest has become an open-air gallery for the street artist Wild Drawing. Eerie, beautiful and right on a beach.
- Best Wine Oinohoros
Naxos runs on local, home-produced wine rather than big wineries; the island's own distillery makes Kitron, the citron liqueur you should not leave without trying. For the wine-curious, Oinohoros in town is part bar, part library.
A small airport with Athens connections, plus the main ferry line through Piraeus, Paros and Santorini. June and September are the gentle months.
Design
Design your experience
Tell us the occasion, the season and who is coming. One of our Epicureans will come back with a first sketch of Naxos, and will tell you if another island suits your dates better.